Mental Health and Developmental Clinician

Program Description

The Child First model is an evidence-based, two-generation intervention that works with very vulnerable young children (prenatal through age 5 years) and their families, providing intensive, home-based services to decrease the incidence of serious mental health problems, developmental and learning disabilities, and abuse and neglect. Child First provides (1) a psychotherapeutic, dyadic intervention to strengthen the parent-child relationship, and (2) care coordination to connect the family to needed services and supports. Child First has been recognized as an evidence-based home visiting model by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program and rated “Effective” by the National Registry for Effective Programs and Practice (NREPP) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA).

• Summary of Position The Child First Mental Health and Developmental Clinician partners with a Family Support Partner to engage families who are referred to the Child First home-based intervention.
• Child First’s primary goal is to strengthen the caregiver-child relationship so that it serves both as a protective buffer to unavoidable stress and directly facilitates the child’s emotional, language, and cognitive growth.
• The Clinician uses trauma-informed CPP, a relationship-based, dyadic, parent-child treatment model, which focuses on the primary attachment relationships of the young child.
• The Clinician engages with both the caregiver and child in a supportive, reflective, and exploratory manner which fosters a protective, nurturing, and responsive parent-child relationship.
• The Clinician’s therapeutic intervention focuses on: 1) helping caregivers understand typical developmental challenges and expectations; 2) increasing caregivers’ ability to reflect on the meaning and feelings motivating a child’s behavior; 3) supporting caregivers’ problem-solving; and 4) helping caregivers understand the psychodynamic relationship between parental feelings, history, and the caregiver response to the child.
• The Clinician also provides consultation to teachers in early care and education settings, as needed.

Responsibilities

Engage with the Child First family and the Family Support Partner in the collaborative family assessment process (i.e., gather information from interviews, observations of interactions and play, reviewed records, collateral sources, and standardized measures). Use all available information to develop a thoughtful, well-integrated clinical formulation and Child and Family Plan of Care, in partnership with the Family Support Partner and family. Provide Child First home-based psychotherapeutic intervention with young children and their caregivers using relational, dyadic psychotherapy (CPP) and other modalities. Help the caregiver gain insight regarding their personal history (including trauma history), feelings for the child, and current parenting practices. Avert crisis situations by assisting the family in times of urgent need (e.g., risk of harm to child or caregivers, pending child removal), in consultation with the Family Support Partner and Clinical Supervisor. Provide mental health and developmental assessment and consultation within early care and education settings and to other early childhood providers. Embrace using videotaping to enhance therapeutic work with families and reflective supervision. Engage in weekly individual, Team, and group reflective clinical supervision with Clinical Supervisor. Engage actively in all aspects of the Child First Learning Collaborative, including in-person trainings, distance learning curriculum, and specialty trainings. Keep all appropriate documentation for clinical accountability and reimbursement. Participate in other clinical and administrative activities as appropriate.

Supervisory duties

As the clinical lead, you will be responsible for overseeing and motivating a multi-disciplinary team while managing your team’s day-to-day operations. As well as ensuring employees have proper training and providing any additional training if needed. Other duties may be assigned at the discretion of leadership.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities

Strong written and oral communication skills via phone and face-to-face. Understand HIPAA, protected health information, and confidentiality. Knowledge of relationship-based, psychodynamic intervention and early child development; parent-child relationships and attachment theory; effects of trauma and environmental risks on early childhood brain development, especially violence exposure, maternal depression, and substance abuse; and community-level risk factors (e.g., poverty, homelessness). Openness to learning, capacity for self-reflection, and eagerness to participate in reflective clinical supervision. Strong commitment to the vision, mission, and goals of Child First. Highly organized, self-motivated, reliable, and flexible (including willingness to work non-traditional hours, including at least one evening). Able to work as part of a team. Comfortable with computers and experience with Word and Excel. Proven ability to work with a high level of independence, maintain confidentiality, prioritize assignments, and manage time effectively. Strong conflict resolution skills. Be committed to building trust and engagement with individuals and families from diverse backgrounds. Demonstrates rational decision-making skills. Demonstrate sensitivity and acceptance of individual experiences. Knowledge of parenting skills, childhood developmental stages, and similar.

Qualifications

Education: Master’s degree in Counseling, Social Work, Clinical Psychology, or related field (required).

Licensure

Within one month of employment must obtain a preliminary clinical license. Provisional (LPCC, LSW, LMFTC, etc.) Fully Licensed (LPC, LCSW, LMFT) All licenses must stay up to date and valid during employment.

Experience

• Experience working psychotherapeutically with culturally diverse children and families, including parent-child therapeutic work and play therapy with very young children (0-5 years), for a minimum of three years. Past CPP training is highly valued. Experience providing mental health assessment and consultation to early care and education sites. Knowledge and experience working with adults with mental health, substance use, and cognitive challenges. Experience providing intervention within diverse home and community settings.
• Language
• Skills: Bilingual (Spanish) preferred, depending on location.
• Other
• Requirements: Valid driver’s license, auto insurance, willingness to travel to homes/communities. Requires living in or near the location of the posting. Remains ethical and eligible to apply for a National Provider Identifier (NPI) and Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) to be able to provide clinical services under Medicaid.

Job Details Type

• Full-Time
• Location: Pueblo, Colorado (Hybrid - clinicians travel to clients homes, schools and other community based settings) 1 day per week seeing clients in
• Otero/Crowley/Bent
• Counties
• Department:
• In-Home
• Services
• Schedule: Flexible, with required availability for 2–3 evenings per week (4–7pm) or 3–4 weekend hours.

Salary

$60,000 - $75,000 per year for provisionally licensed staff (LPCC, CSW. LSW, LMFTC) $75,000-$85,000 per year for fully licensed staff (LPC, LCSW, LMFT)

Benefits

Paid health, dental, vision, life, short- and long-term disability insurance. Flexible work hours Discretionary Time Off (DTO) 401(k)retirement plan Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Professional development support Referral bonuses

Diversity & Inclusion Paragon Behavioral Health Connections is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace. We strongly encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences.